possibly sick?

[escm]

heya guys,

so heres the deal. I fed my snake about two and a half weeks ago. a week after that he went into shed. shed was perfect all one piece, eye scales, the works...so i expect him to poop ya know...thats what he usally does...eat, go into shed, shed, poop, eat, poop, eat, poop...you get the point. well its been 3 days since he shed. no poop. in fact before this shed he was a kind hearted trusting youngin but ever since a week before his shed and so far after hes been incredibly skittish and generally pissy. now a before shed mood swing is a common thing, im used to it. but why is he still acting so nervous and why the no poop? Would it be ok to feed him even though he has not pooped since his last meal 16 days ago? Maybe a feeding session will get things moving again? Thanks guys for you help!

[Lisa]

Soak him in warm water. He could be constipated.

[Pixie]

It amazed me to hear about people's balls being so "regular" because mine dosn't go very often and that since the day I have her. She'll poo every 2-3 meals which comes to once a month. I think it's great!!! And she is very healthy otherwise.

My newest ball seems to be following the same pattern, a few meals before a poo. He also is healthy in every other respect.

I take it that like humans and other animals, snakes have individual digestion metabolisms. Some being quicker than others. Since this is not usual for your snake, I do see a cause for some worry.

First thing I would ask is where do you feed your snake? If in it's enclosure, what kind of substrate do you use? Is there a possibility that your snake may have ingested some substrate with his meal? If this could be the case, I recommend a visit to the vet to make sure there isn't an impaction.

If substrate is not an issue, Lisa's advice is the best. Give your snake lukewarm baths, 1 or 2 a day 30-60min. That should get things moving!

Good luck

[Linds]

IMOE balls tend to have somewhat slower metabolisms. Babies seem to defecate every few weeks, while older balls tend to go every few months. Balls (as well as most other ground snakes) are rarely ever affected by constipation, this is more of a concern with arborela species. I wouldn't suggest feeding him based soley on his defecation schedule. 16 days is especially not a long period of time for a ball to not have defecated. I wouldn't recommend soaking your snake, as I doubt that he is constipated, and balls for the most part do not enjoy baths. You would probably just be putting undue stress on him, and not helping his mood. I don't think you have anything to worry about. Just as long as everything else appears normal, keep feeding your little guy, he's probably getting a lil grouchy 'cause he's hungry

[mykee]

escm; I, personally am very anal-retentive and an obsessive-compulsive, I keep records of everything, my snakes included. If there is one thing I learned in owning snakes is; YOU CAN NEVER EXPECT THERM TO KEEP A SCHEDULE. They will eat when they want, poop when they want, and shed when they want. I learned this lesson relatively early on into this whole snake-thing, and it sure did have be guessing and worrrying and stressing until I figured this out.

[marisa]

I agree with everyone! I only have one ball python, but my experience with him is much the same. He goes about every 3-5 meals. And when he does go, its usually after a handling session or a cage clean. Never seems to just go on his own out of the blue.

Marisa

[Big Mike]

Just when you thing he's not going to...he does it all over you. One time I was hangin' out with my little guy and he started to crap on me. He was on an old blanket that I was sitting with and I thought I would just let him finish and then wash the blanket. Well that's all well and good for the solids but when I got up there was a big wet (and stinky) spot right through the blanket and onto my shirt. Yuk.

[escm]

thanks guys!

substrate - I feed him in a separate sterilite container and his enclosure substrate is newspaper so I'm not worried about it being impaction or anything like that.

bath - yes id really like to avoid the bath if at all possible. he kinda freaks out when his tail just dips into his water bowl when he is crusing...I fear having to bathe him (i'm of course willing to do whatever is necessary I just wanna make sure whatever I do is 100% necessary).

also, last night he was out and about crusing and he let me pick him up and explore around the outside of his cage. he seemed to be in a normal mood (a hungry mood, but tolerant and relaxed). I'll try and feed him tonight.

When should I begin to get worried? Assuming he is constipated how long would it be before serious action would need to be taken?

Thanks for all your help guys!!

[Pixie]

I really wouldn't worry about it as long as everything else is fine. If he is active, in a normal mood and eating. Don't worry, it'll come out when he's good and ready to let her rip!

[Big Mike]

When mine was yonger he would only crap durring a shed. Maybe that's what's happening.